


Chai and Mothering

by jenna_marianne



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Community: inception_kink, Fluff, Gen, Gen Fic, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-25
Updated: 2010-09-25
Packaged: 2017-10-12 04:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenna_marianne/pseuds/jenna_marianne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the inception job, Yusuf is cold and miserable in their Paris warehouse.  Fortunately, Eames knows just what will cheer his good friend up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chai and Mothering

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [](http://community.livejournal.com/inception_kink/profile)[**inception_kink**](http://community.livejournal.com/inception_kink/) [ prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/inception_kink/11005.html?thread=22088701#t22088701): "I think Yusef is the only team member who hasn’t had a fill of him getting it on with Eames as a forgery. And since they were BFFs in Mombasa, they had plenty of time to play. Who does Eames turn into for Yusef? Aishwarya Rai? Steve McQueen? Catwoman? Himself? The possibilities are endless!"  
> ...so of course I wrote a gen story about Yusuf being homesick, d'oh!
> 
> Originally posted at my livejournal, [here](http://jenna-marianne.livejournal.com/3553.html).
> 
> Influenced by [](http://effex.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**effex**](http://effex.dreamwidth.org/) 's, [Yusuf meta](http://effex.dreamwidth.org/90794.html), though I have no idea if I did the meta or Yusuf justice below.

Yusuf was holed up in his corner of the Paris warehouse, hunched over his chemicals. He was nearly finished with the latest iteration of the sedative for the inception job; tomorrow they would test it on their guinea-pig, Arthur. Yusuf was rather amazed at what Arthur would put up with for the job. Eames had, by Yusuf's count, pushed Arthur off his chair twenty times and Eames laughed every time. He said it was the expression Arthur had on his face the split second before he hit the ground, an astonished _what's happening_ look.

Yusuf's smile at the memory was short-lived, however. Hunched into his layered sweater and jacket, scarf wrapped around his neck, he longed for home. He promised himself this was the last time he'd be lured away by a big pay-off, though he knew he'd probably do it again. Maybe he'd convince the next employers he could cook up their custom mix in Mombasa and...it was no use, the difficulties of sneaking illicit drugs across borders would make that too dangerous. He'd have to make due with his layers of clothing and sub-standard chai. His mother, born and raised in India, made better chai than any he'd had anywhere else in the world, India included. Yusuf sighed.

"You alright?" asked Eames from his side, leaning against his make-do lab station.

Grabbing at his chest in startlement, Yusuf turned to his old friend, "Don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Eames patted his shoulder, "Sorry mate. Something wrong?"

Abandoning his work for the night as a lost cause, Yusuf turned his back to the table and leaned equally against it and Eames, a heavy warmth beside him. "I think I hate Paris," he said, shaking his head ruefully.

Eames chuckled, and pulled Yusuf closer with an arm about his shoulder. "Nah, you don't hate Paris, you just miss Mombasa."

Some of the cold leeched out of Yusuf as he leaned closer to his friend, "I suppose your right, but either way, it's awful for my productivity."

Eames leaned away a bit to get a glance at Yusuf's troubled face. "Hmm, I know what you need."

"What?" replied Yusuf skeptically.

"A vacation!" said Eames, looking pleased with himself.

"...a vacation, in the middle of the toughest job of my life?"

"Yusuf, you of all people shouldn't forget the possibilities of our, hmm, shall we say 'vocation'?"

And that was how Yusuf found himself in his parents home in Mombasa, being served the best chai in the world by his mother, as she chided him on how thin he looked and when he was going to find the right girl to settle down with, while his cat purred in his lap. It was a lovely visit, and he woke up feeling refreshed and warm on a lawn-chair in a warehouse, covered in the bright comforter Ariadne favored for her longer dream-walks.

Turning to Eames, who was coiling up the PASIV leads, Yusuf said, "I had no idea you knew my mother so well."

"She's a lovely lady, sometimes she invites me over for tea and biscuits when I'm in town. Before we left Mombasa, she told me to keep an eye on her baby. I couldn't let her down now, could I?" he asked, before patting Yusuf on the shoulder.

Yusuf laughed, the most relaxed he'd been since arriving in Paris, before rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks, Eames," before looking away in embarrassment.

"Think nothing of it," said Eames, smiling, "We all get homesick from time to time. Me, a good cup of Earl Grey usually does the trick," he said with a wink. "Now shall we head out and drink something a little more substantial?"

"Why not," said Yusuf, grinning, and then they dragged the rest of the crew off for a late-night dinner.


End file.
